1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for automatically registering new articles on a database, and more particularly to systems and methods that can automatically produce in a database a code for each article whose data are input to the database.
2. Description of the Related Art
Departments of a large organization need to purchase maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) materials such as paper, floppy disks and stationery for daily use. Normally, a central purchasing department of an organization collates total MRO material requirements of the organization periodically, by collecting purchase requisitions submitted by other departments of the organization. The purchase requisition of each department is submitted to staff of the purchasing department either in hardcopy form or by electronic means such as phone, fax, or e-mail. Generally, the purchasing department has a database for recording data on required articles. Each article recorded in the database is assigned with a unique code. Other departments can visit the database via networks and submit purchase requisitions according to the articles recorded in the database.
However, the articles recorded in the database of the purchasing department do not always cover all articles that are desired to be requisitioned. It is common for a user to be unable to find the user's required article in the database. If so, the purchasing department either refuses to accept the purchase requisition or collects data on the required article and inputs such data into the database. However, the staff in the purchasing department is often unfamiliar with the required article. Errors in inputting the data on the required articles are commonplace.
As web communications technology has advanced, more and more enterprises are beginning to conduct business on electronic networks to reduce operating costs and improve efficiency. Various departments in an organization may input data on required articles to the database of the purchasing department via such networks. However, the data stored in the database usually follows a particular format which staff members in other departments are not familiar with. Generally, each article in the database has a corresponding unique code under the said format. When staff members in other departments register new articles on the database using incorrect codes, it causes confusion and delays.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method that automatically produces a code for each article input by users, according to predetermined rules. What is also needed is a system and method that allows users to set rules for registering articles on a database via networks.